Electrical outlet



March 24, 1942. 1.. EPSTEIN ELECTRICAL OUTLET Filed Dec. 6, 1939 INVENTOR. lou/s EP 7' E/N. BY W ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 24, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRICAL OUTLET Louis Epstein, New York, N. Y.

Application December 6, 1939, Serial No. 307,723

1 Claim.

appliance connected to the outlet, and a by-pass- It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a convenience outlet which is adapted to be secured to or in a wall or baseboard, or as a portable deviceso that it may be transported from place to place.

Further objects and. advantages of the invention will appear from the following disclosure thereof taken together with the attached drawing which illustrates a certain form of embodiment thereof. This form is shown for the purpose of illustrating the invention, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which the invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that the in vention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of the instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a convenience outlet made in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2 (the fuse plug being shown in dash-dot outline);

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of circuit and electrical connections used in the invention.

In the drawing which shows one example by which the invention may be realized, the numeral l5 indicates a housing preferably made of suitable insulating material, such as, for example, phenol or resin composition, porcelain, glass, or other non-conducting material.

Housing l5 has four walls Ii, l1, l8 and I9 and a top 20. The bottom of housing [5 is open but may be closed by a removable insulating plate board 2| fitting snugly within recess 22 of the walls. At 23 there is an opening through which a fuse plug 23 may be inserted and secured in the outlet by screwing the same into the threaded metal shell 24 which is connected to the electric conductor 25 as by soldering or screws 25'. The conventional bottom contact point of the fuse plug (not shown) will contact a spring member 26 to which is connected by means of a screw 21 to one of the electric wires 28 of the cable 29. The other electric wire 30 of the cable 29is connected at 3| to an electric conductor 32. electric conductors 25 and 32 have conventional prongs P which will engage in the conventional manner with conventional plugs (not shown) when inserted through the openings or slots 45.,

The cable 29 is provided with such a plug 33 which in this instance is required to connect the "convenience outlet with a distant baseboard outlet. At'34 there is secured within the housing [5 a by-pass condenser of suitable electrical capacity one terminal of which connects by means of the electric cable 35 with electric conductor 25, the other terminal of the by-pass condenser 34 being connected by means of electric wire 36 to a screw connection 31 which may be utilized for a ground connection 38. The spring member 26 is fastened by means of the screw 21 to an inwardly projecting lug 39, which lug may be made integral with housing 15. To facilitate the application of screw 21, an opening 40 may be provided in alinement with screw 21, in spring member 26, through which opening 40 a screw driver may be inserted.

It can be readily seen that the unit made in accordance with this invention and seen in Fig.

1 may be transported to any convenient spot and connection made to the usual outlet through cable 29 and plug 33. The electrical appliance or device which it is intended to operate is connected through its cable and plug (not shown) to one of the outlet branches 45. In the event of a short circuit occurring in the appliance or device or in its cable, the fuse 23' will blow and thereby protect the fuse of the main line. If the device to be operated is, say a radio, then the by-pass condenser 34 will minimize or decrease noises resulting from an electrical disturbance due to operation of or defect in another device connected to the other outlet branch 45 or to the electrical line to which the unit is connected.

It is evident that a unit made in accordance with the invention may be employed in lieu of the conventional wall outlet. It may be secured within the wall or on the baseboard of a room. The unit may be grounded through the connection 31.

Although the drawing, and the above specification discloses the best mode in-which I have contemplated embodying my invention, I desire Both in no way to be limited to the details or such disclosure, for in the further practical application of my invention many changes in the forms and proportions may bemade as circumstances require or experience suggests without departing from the spirit oi the invention within the scope be projected for threaded engagement with said shell, a pair of electrical terminals in said housing, said top wall having a pair of slots in respective alignment with said terminals through which the prongs of a plug may be projected for electrical contact with said terminals, an electrical conductor in said housing connecting one of said terminals with said shell, a second electrical conductor secured to said housing and extending to a position adjacent said shell contacting with said fuse, a cable having one wire connected to the other of said terminals and another wire connected to said second conductor, a ground terminal on said housing, and a condenser in said housing connected across said one of said terminals and said terminal for ground connection.

' LOUIS EPSTEIN. 

